Caring For One Another By The Spirit

Well, when I was in fifth grade, I started playing saxophone in my school band.

And we had a great band director.

His name was Mr. Johnson.

He was patient with us, he had fun with us, but he was also not afraid to work as hard

in preparation for concert season.

I can remember us being in the middle of a song and him yelling over all the din of the

instruments, tempo, keep the tempo.

And he wasn't afraid to call out individual players either in the middle of a song.

Billy, you're speeding us up.

Daniel, play softer.

Sometimes he would resort to banging out the rhythm with his wand on a music stand instead

of conducting us in the air because he wanted us to fall into step with where he was leading

us.

At the beginning of a new semester, we would always sound terrible.

Squeaky, out of tune, hitting wrong notes or hitting, not hitting notes at all.

But by the end of the semester, our conductor, having stuck with us, would lead us into some

pretty good sounding music.

The unity and the harmony of the whole body of instruments would fill the performance hall.

And it was all worth it to see his smile at the end of the concert.

Well, church, we have a conductor too.

We are all individual members of a whole body of instruments.

We are a spiritual orchestra.

And we have one conductor that we must fall into step with.

Or, if we don't, we will miss the beauty and the harmony of where he's leading us, of what

he's intending us to play.

And our conductor, church, is the Holy Spirit.

And although there are many songs that he has for us to play, there's one song that's

pretty close to his heart.

And the name of this song is Love One Another.

It's a tender, gentle, exquisitely beautiful song.

But it's also complicated.

It's messy, even.

It requires close and careful attention to our conductor.

At times, he'll speed us up.

Then he'll slow us back down.

Then we'll change keys.

Here we're loud.

Here we're soft.

And if we don't pay careful attention to where he's taking us, we're going to be hopelessly

lost as we try to play the song.

And so this morning, that's exactly what the Apostle Paul is trying to communicate to the

Galatian churches, starting at chapter 5, verse 25, and through chapter 6, verse 5.

And what he wants them to see, and what the God wants us to see, is this.

That when the church is in step with the Spirit, we will humbly care for one another.

When the church is in step with the Spirit, we will humbly care for one another.

When we, as the body of Christ, are paying close attention to our conductor, the resulting

melody will be humble care for one another.

That's the emphasis in this particular passage.

So let's unpack the passage in the following way.

First, there's a call to action in chapter 5, verse 25.

And then we'll see in 526 through 6.3, sorry, 6.2, that that call is for a community.

And lastly, we can't miss the caution in verses 3 to 5 in chapter 6.

So it's a call for a community with a caution.

Let's start looking at the call to action in chapter 5, verse 25.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

If we live by the Spirit.

Well, what does that mean?

What does it mean to live by the Spirit?

Well, word to the wise, and maybe a quick preview of our word workshop coming up on January 25th.

If you're stuck on what something means in the Bible, take some time to take a look around at the context.

Look for clues around that phrase to help understand what that phrase means.

And that's what we're going to do with live by the Spirit.

Look up to verse 16 for starters.

Paul says, but I say, walk by the Spirit.

Well, that sounds pretty close to live by the Spirit.

That kind of helps us understand what that's about a little bit.

And Pastor Matt last week helped us see that people who have put their trust in Jesus, Christians,

and who have received God's Holy Spirit on the inside of them as His indwelling presence within,

we still have to cultivate a dependence upon the Holy Spirit to be able to live the life that God's called us to.

Right?

That's reinforced in verse 18.

If you are led by the Spirit, okay, that kind of gives us a little bit more understanding.

Walking by the Spirit, there's this kind of plodding mentality, it's activity.

Being led by the Spirit, we have to be leaning into His guidance and His leadership.

So being dependent upon the presence and the power of God's Spirit within us as Christians

is basically what Paul's saying here.

That's what it means to live by the Spirit, to be defined by the Spirit.

Christians are people whose lives are defined by the Holy Spirit.

By what the Spirit produces in them, the holy fruit of Christ's character.

He's the one who provides power to fight against the flesh.

He is the one who gave a spiritual life to the beginning.

So our lives are defined by the Holy Spirit.

So basically he's saying if you're a Christian, if you live by the Spirit,

then, here's the call to action, keep in step with the Spirit.

So yes, we are Spirit-dependent people.

We are Spirit-defined people from beginning to end.

We must rely on His presence and power to live this life that God has called us to in Christ.

So therefore, it makes a lot of sense that we have to put effort into keeping in step with Him.

So just as an orchestra has to pay close attention to its conductor,

the church has to pay close attention to put real effort into following and responding to the Spirit's lead.

This is a call to action.

It's the same way what Pastor Matt preached last week,

only here we're getting a little more nitty-gritty.

It's like keep an eye on Him.

Stay really closely connected to Him.

Now just in case you're not musical and the whole orchestra illustration doesn't work for you,

here's another one.

The Christian life in the Spirit is a lot less like flying a plane

and a lot more like a bicycle race.

In a plane, now I might be oversimplifying this if there are any pilots in the room,

but in a plane, once you're up in the air,

you can push the autopilot button

and it basically gets you to where you want to go.

You don't have to do a whole lot.

You kind of relax until you start your descent.

But in a bicycle race, there's no relaxing.

You have to stay on your leader.

You've got to stay with the group.

You've got to be pumping the pedals the whole way,

breathing hard the whole way.

Now there are easy stretches.

There are flat straightaways.

There's downhill slopes.

But even in those parts of the race,

you still have to stay on the leader.

You still have to keep pedaling.

You have to stay with the group.

And when Paul calls us to keep in step with the Spirit,

he's calling us to action.

We need to sit up straight when we hear that call.

We need to feel the urgency of that call.

We need to shake off the slackness that we tend to naturally get

as we run our Christian race,

and we need to prepare ourselves for real, steady, and sustainable action.

Now it's a new year.

This is a great time to begin asking the question,

where am I going?

What am I doing with my life?

How am I doing with my life?

And if this is a time when you realize,

I'm kind of drifting.

I'm coasting.

I'm not really pushing the pedals.

Then hear the call.

Hear the call of action.

Being a Christian does not mean pushing the autopilot button.

It means, okay, roll up my sleeves.

Let's get to work.

That's not how we earn our salvation.

We know that.

We know it's by faith.

But it is a call to work.

It's a call to action.

We need to hear that here.

So if you are a Christian,

if you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you,

if we, the church, have the Spirit dwelling among us,

if we're defined by the work of the Spirit,

then hear the call to action.

What is the Spirit, our conductor, tapping out for us?

What's His rhythm?

Are we listening?

Are we paying close attention?

Are we leaning into Him?

That has to do with spiritual disciplines.

If you're slack in your prayer,

if you're slack in reading Scripture

and paying close attention to your own heart,

then that's going to mean you're drifting.

You're on autopilot.

So, all right.

Take a moment to say,

all right, this is what the Spirit's calling me to do.

Keep in step with Him.

Lean into Him.

This is whether you're new in the faith

or whether you've been a seasoned saint for many years

or if you're foot sore and you are war weary

or maybe you're discouraged from a lack of growth

or a lack of affection for the Lord

or maybe you are just awash in apathy

or maybe you're stuck in sin.

But wherever you're at,

the Spirit, hear what He's saying to you.

Pick up your instrument

or if you prefer, hop back on your bicycle.

Keep in step with Him.

Resist the temptation to push idle pilot.

There's no drifting or coasting here.

Posture yourself for action.

Roll up your sleeves.

Get ready to work.

Church, we're not home yet.

Just like the song we sang,

Come Thou Fount,

Come My Lord No Longer Tarry,

Bring Your Promises to Pass.

We're not home yet.

We live in between the comings of Jesus,

between His first advent and His second.

And so the time in between

is the life of the Spirit.

We get to participate in the life we have to come

that Christ has promised us,

of full fellowship with Him,

and yet we know that that fullness hasn't come yet.

And so we strive, we move towards Him,

because we know we're still pulled back

into our old ways of the flesh.

And so the time between the comings here

is to be lived in step with the Spirit.

He's our guide to our heavenly home,

to our destination.

So lean into Him.

That's the call to action.

But that's pretty broad.

It's pretty general.

It's not very specific.

So how do we start keeping in step with Him

in practical and specific ways?

Well, this call to action is for a community.

It's a call to action for a community.

And the call to action for the community is this.

Humbly care for each other.

That's the way that we keep in step with the Spirit.

That's the way we roll up our sleeves

and keep in step with our leader

is by humbly caring for each other,

right here, right now, as a body of Christ.

And we're going to spend the majority of our time on this

because that's the real emphasis of this passage.

So let's look at chapter 5, verse 26,

through chapter 6, verse 2.

I want to read it again.

And as I read, I want you to hunt for clues

that Paul is speaking to a community.

Did you see clues pointing to a community?

How about those one another's provoking one another,

envying one another,

bearing one another's burdens?

How about the way he addresses them as a church family?

Brothers, which can be translated easily,

brothers and sisters.

How about the call to restore the sinning member

by other members?

Remember, Paul is writing to a group of churches here.

He is writing to a community.

He's not writing to random individual Christians.

He's writing to groups of people

who have joined themselves together

because of their mutual faith in Christ

for the purpose of accountability and encouragement

to live the life of the Spirit together.

By the way, Christ the King Church,

that's what we are.

We are a group of people

who have joined ourselves together

because of our mutual faith in Christ

so that we can keep each other accountable

and encourage one another

as we live the life of the Spirit together.

So this has a lot to say to us right here,

right now, January 5th, 2020.

I almost said 2019.

Phew, okay, good thing I didn't.

So what is the call to action?

To humbly care for one another,

to demonstrate real Christ-like love

in the power of the Spirit to one another.

In verse two, he gives us a great visual,

bear one another's burdens.

Well, that helps us, doesn't it?

It gets that in our minds.

But before we get to that serving one another part,

the bearing one another's burdens part,

that's what keeping in step with the Spirit

means for us in community.

Let's take a peek in verse 26

of what it doesn't look like.

Paul's great at setting up a negative

before he gets to the positive.

So let's look at verse 26.

Let us not become conceited,

provoking one another, envying one another.

So how do we put effort into keeping in step

with the Spirit in our community of a church?

Put to death your self-important attitude.

That's how.

That word translated conceited in our Bibles

could also be translated literally

empty honor or empty glory.

Paul's warning the community of the church

right on the heels of his call to action

that if they want to stifle the Spirit's

life-giving work in their midst,

then be thirsty for self-importance.

A desire to be recognized and praised for yourself,

to think highly of yourself,

that's how you can quench the Spirit in your midst.

That's how you can not keep in step with the Spirit.

And this appetite for recognition,

for reputation, for being known as something,

produces all kinds of sinful activity

within a community.

For one, those who desire recognition and praise

often provoke others within the community,

basically picking fights,

challenging those who disagree with them,

calling them out,

stirring up dissension and division within the body.

Some of us, perhaps this can get kind of glossed over

with spiritual language,

but it is, if it walks like a duck,

talks like a duck, it's a duck.

Some of us are more prone to this,

especially those of us who have more dominant personalities,

we're go-getters, we're more vocal,

we're more opinionated.

We can tend to be this way.

That is not keeping in step with the Spirit.

But there's also another way.

Do you see that?

Envying one another.

Perhaps this is more common for us.

Self-important person may not necessarily show

their self-importance by picking fights externally,

but it's an internal attitude of envy

or comparison or holding grudges,

and it can poison our attitude toward others

and rob us and them of the life-giving work

of the Spirit at work among us.

For six years, I was a teacher at a Christian school

here in town.

I started as a Spanish teacher,

and then I was really hoping they'd ask me

to teach Bible at some point.

Well, during a staff meeting,

midway through my time there,

it was announced that they had asked another guy

to teach Bible, and they hadn't asked me.

And immediately, my conceit, my self-importance,

my sinful desire for recognition

as a great Bible teacher raised its ugly head,

and it showed up in the form of intense envy

toward my brother in Christ.

It took me a little bit of time to realize

that was what was going on in my heart.

I couldn't quite tell, and then it's like,

oh, wait, that's what's going on.

I'm envying him.

Have you ever had something like that happen to you

in the context of the church or somewhere else?

Hear the call to action.

Self-importance has no place in the community

where the Spirit is in charge.

Put it to death, the Spirit says,

whether in its outward form of picking fights

or dissension or division

or in the slow internal poison of envy

or comparing yourself with others

or bearing grudges against others.

Rather, Paul says,

now that you know what keeping in step

with the Spirit doesn't look like

in the community,

this is what it does look like.

It looks like humbly caring for each other.

It means laying aside your sense of self-importance

and adopting an attitude

that emphasizes the importance of others.

In verse 1, Paul shows us

that not only are we not supposed to sin

against one another,

we're supposed to help restore those who do sin.

We are to care for one another's souls.

So, if anyone is overtaken in a sin,

Paul says,

you who are spiritual are to restore them

in a spirit of gentleness.

In the ESV, it uses the word caught,

but I think the word overtake might be better.

Caught makes us think of, like,

you're caught in the act,

caught red-handed.

That's not, I mean, obviously,

that's going to,

we need to restore folks

who are caught red-handed,

but we also need to restore anyone

who is overtaken in a sin,

and that's all of us.

Sin has a way of sneaking up on us.

Think about the last time you blew it

and you knew it.

You weren't planning on sinning that day,

but a combination of circumstances

caused you to get angry

or to lust

or to be dishonest

or whatever it was.

And just think about,

once you knew that that happened,

despair starts to set in,

shame and condemnation start to come in,

and you're thinking,

whatever,

I just might as well give up.

I just might as well keep on doing this

because there's no hope

in trying to resist this anymore.

Well, that's where God's saying here,

community to the rescue.

That's why we have each other, church.

There are men in this church

that God has used to restore me

when I have been overtaken in sin,

and they did it in a spirit of gentleness.

And I am very thankful for those men.

And don't think for one minute

that that word spiritual

means only pastors and leaders.

It's a temptation we have, I think,

in the American church.

Uh-uh.

That word spiritual

could just be translated,

you spirit people.

Same thing back up in verse 25.

If we live by the spirit.

Well, that's Christians.

If you are a Christian,

you are a spirit person.

You are spiritual

because you have the Holy Spirit.

And you are being called upon here

to help restore your brother or sister

who falls into sin.

This is not something

we should slough off

to the professionals

because, guess what?

There are no professional Christians.

We are all the body of Christ

indwelled by the spirit,

and he has laid on us

the responsibility

to humbly care for one another

and help each other

follow Christ together.

So if someone in this body

has a sin problem,

then that should concern you.

It is,

falls on you

to be concerned about them

because you are one with them

in Christ.

You are members

one of another.

That doesn't mean

you're responsible

for their sin

nor ultimately responsible

for their well-being,

but you are being called upon

to humbly care for them

by helping to restore them

in some way.

Now you might be wondering

how this works,

practically speaking.

This is maybe a little bit tricky.

What do you do

if someone confesses sin to you?

Well, you remind that sinner

that they have a friend

and his name is Jesus.

He is the friend of sinners.

So speak 1 John 1, 9 to them.

If anyone confesses their sin,

God is faithful and just

to forgive them of their sin

and to cleanse them

of all unrighteousness.

So speak words of gospel truth to them,

of forgiveness

and assurance of pardon.

And you get to be

the Spirit's agent

to help heal their soul.

What an awesome privilege.

Don't shy away from that

just because you don't feel

like you're a professional.

Now if it's a matter

that feels pretty heavy,

like an addiction

or maybe a sin

involving lots of people

that's rather complicated

or a sin that's pretty grievous

and serious,

well then talk to that person

and to see about involving

a pastor or an elder

or some other life group leader,

some other mature Christian

who can help maybe shed light

on a complicated issue.

So be careful,

be humble,

speaking into situations

you don't understand well necessarily,

but don't let that keep you

from participating

in restoring a brother or a sister.

Now life group leaders,

life group members,

you need to hear this.

If something like this

comes up in your group,

lean into it.

Don't overwhelm the person

with lots of words,

just listen sympathetically,

ask good questions,

and speak weighty words

of gospel truth,

of forgiveness

and assurance to them.

But don't do the other error.

Don't paint their sin

in a good light.

Don't sugar coat things.

Call a spade a spade.

If it's sin, it's sin.

Deal with it head on

with the gospel.

So treat others

how you would like them

to treat you

if you're confessing sin.

Gently, truthfully, lovingly

point them to Jesus.

And you will be

an agent of restoration.

But you also need to hear this.

Whether you're in life group or not,

this is what the community is for.

We exist to help each other do this.

So if you are the one

overtaken in a sin,

don't stay quiet.

The Psalms talks about

if I kept my sin within myself

and my bones started rotting.

Sin has a way of rotting us

from the inside out.

Speak it.

Confess it.

Go to someone in service.

Go to someone in your life group.

Go to someone you know well

who would be able

to speak God's truth to you.

Risk the transparency

in order to keep in step

with the Spirit.

Obey James 5.16.

Confess your sins

one to another

and pray for one another

so that you may be healed.

Sometimes this might mean

having to confront someone gently.

That's scary.

But along the lines of Matthew 18,

we're called to do this too.

If you see or become aware

of a sinful behavior

and another believer,

then we are called upon

to humbly care

for that brother or sister

in the spirit of gentleness

by asking them about it.

Much humility is needed here.

Not self-righteous judgment.

We're not trying to accuse.

We're trying to restore.

And you've got to be careful.

Remember Jesus used

the log in the eye

and the speck of sawdust

in the eye illustration.

Approaching someone's eye

to get a speck of sawdust out

is a very delicate process.

You've got to be very gentle.

You've got to have confidence.

They need to have confidence in you.

But if Jesus is our Lord

and our Master

and we are His servants,

we must be willing

to approach another servant

in gentleness

if they're doing something

that does not please

or bring honor to the Master.

And this is for all of us.

This is not just for pastors,

not just for leaders.

Now before we move on

to other ways

we can care for one another,

look at the end of verse 1.

Keep watch on yourself

lest you too be tempted.

When helping restore

a fellow sinner,

we are often tempted

to fall into sin ourselves.

We are tempted

to conceited self-righteousness.

Like thinking,

I would never sin like that.

We are tempted to frustration

and impatience

with our brother or sister,

especially if they're not changing

or especially if their sin

affects us negatively.

We might be tempted

to join them in their sin

in some way.

Coming into contact with sin

can sometimes soften

our hearts to it

and tempt us toward it.

So just think about Johnny Cash.

Walk in the line.

I keep a close watch

on this heart of mine.

I keep my eyes wide open

all the time.

Keep a close eye

on your own heart

when you're in the process

of doing this.

It helps us do this

in humility and gentleness.

So restoring a sinning

family member

is a way we humbly care

for one another

and keep in step

with the Spirit.

But it's not the only way

we keep in step

with the Spirit

in community.

Look at verse 2.

Paul tells the Galatians

to bear one another's burdens

and so fulfill

the law of Christ.

This includes

bearing the burdens

of those who've sinned

and need restoration,

but it's broader than that.

It means lending

your strength,

skill,

time,

energy,

resources

to help another believer

through difficulty.

As Paul says

somewhere else,

when one member hurts,

the whole body does.

That's because

the Spirit

binds us together.

We have Him

in common.

So therefore,

when we become aware

of a difficulty

that another member

of the church

is going through,

then we ought

to have an impulse

to help shoulder

that burden.

That's what

keeping in step

with the Spirit

looks like

in the community

of the Spirit.

We get to humbly

care for one another

and bear one another's

burdens

in a variety of ways.

It can be acts

of service.

This summer,

my wife had

shoulder surgery.

So many of you

cared for us

in very practical

and needed ways.

Y'all bared,

you bared,

you bore our

burdens with us.

Thank you.

That's exactly,

and this church

is so good at that.

Our deacons

are so fantastic

at being able

to find ways

to care for

body members

that are hurting.

But we also bear

one another's burdens

when we sit

and we listen

and we share

God's Word together

and encourage

one another.

When someone's

going through

a difficult time,

we have one another

over for dinner

and we ask

good questions.

We take time

after service

to hunt down

people we know

are going through

a rough patch

to be able

to ask them

how they're doing

and pray for them.

That's bearing

one another's burdens

as a body.

And speaking of praying,

that's probably

the most wonderful,

most effective,

and maybe hardest

way to bear

one another's burdens

is to take

intentional time

to pray

and care for

one another's burdens

in prayer.

So when we do

this burden bearing

in all of its forms,

we fulfill

the law of Christ.

what does Paul

mean by that?

Look back up

to chapter 5,

verse 13 and 14.

Do not use

your freedom

as an opportunity

for the flesh,

but through love

serve one another.

For the whole law

is fulfilled

in one word.

You shall love

your neighbor

as yourself.

This is very similar

to the command

that Jesus gave

his church,

the disciples,

in John 13.

A new command

I give you

that you love

one another.

Just as I have loved you,

you are to love

one another.

So we fulfill

the whole law

of the Old Testament

in one sense

by just doing this,

by bearing

one another's burdens

in practical,

real,

meaningful ways.

So in one sense,

it's what

the law of Christ

is what he's spoken

to us,

love one another.

But it's also

the model

he's provided

for us.

Church,

the only reason

we exist

as a body

is because Christ

bore our burdens

on Calvary.

We sang of it earlier

in How Great Thou Art.

Christ bore our burdens

to the cross.

As Paul says

in Philippians 2,

Jesus took on

the form of a servant.

He took on the burden

of human flesh.

He was born

as one of us.

In being found

in human form,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient

to the point of death,

even death

on a cross.

So we are to

humbly care

for one another

and bear

one another's burdens

in the same way

Jesus bore

our burdens

and because

Jesus bore

our burdens.

He did the same

for us.

And if we belong

to him

and we have

his spirit

within and among us,

how can we act

any differently?

So friends,

if we are

spirit-defined people,

if we are people

who have the spirit

and live by the spirit,

let us keep in step

with him.

We need to be about

the priority

in community

of humbly caring

for one another

and by doing so,

we keep in step

with him.

Our conductor

is tapping out

his rhythm

to a song of love

and we have

to keep our eyes

on him.

So let me just

give you a few

brief and concrete

ways to do this.

First, examine

your heart

for self-importance.

There is no better

way to keep

a community

from following

the spirit's lead

than to be concerned

about yourself

as your first priority.

Jesus came

to free us

from that destructive

tendency of our

human hearts.

So ask yourself

Philippians 2

Philippians 2:3

verse 3

in question form.

How does God

want me to

humbly consider

others as more

significant than

myself?

I'm guessing

there are probably

a few people

within the church

that you have

a hard time

interacting with

without self-important

pride showing up

in your heart

and yet they are

your spiritual family.

So ask the Lord

to help you

put your self-importance

to death

and the Holy Spirit

will be glad

to assist you.

Secondly,

move towards

other people.

Move towards

other people.

Do you hear

the movement

in that?

Do you hear

the action

in that?

Move toward

other people.

This is a call

to action.

Bearing one

of those burdens

assumes you

have relationship

with people.

So move

towards people.

Now this is

harder for some

people than

for others.

I get that.

And it doesn't

mean you have

to be best friends

with everybody

or even know

everybody in the

church.

But it does

mean that your

posture is toward

people,

not away from

them.

It means a

willingness to

engage in

conversation with

people,

even the people

you're not

naturally attracted

to.

And not just in

conversation about

you, but also in

conversation about

them.

Ask good questions.

It's a way we bear

one of those burdens

and care for each

other.

Discover what's

going on in their

lives.

Be listening for

ways you can help.

It might mean

praying with them

on the spot

after service

today.

It might mean

intentionally praying

for them throughout

the week.

It might mean

texting them.

It might mean

getting together

with them through

the week to hear

how they're doing

or to help restore

them when they've

sinned.

It might mean

showing up at

their house to

fix their dryer

or with a cooked

meal.

There are a

zillion ways we

can bear one

of those burdens.

But we must be

willing to move

towards people to

find out what

those burdens are.

Well, I'm

guessing you've

heard the call

to action.

And you've

heard what that

looks like in

community.

But there's one

more thing we

need to pay

attention to.

It's the

caution that's

attached to

the call in

verses 4 to

5.

Sorry, 3 to

5.

And the

caution is

this.

Don't forget

that the only

one God will

hold accountable

for you is

you.

Don't forget

that the only

one God will

hold accountable

for you is

you.

Verse 3.

For if anyone

thinks he is

something when he

is nothing, he

deceives himself.

But let each

one test his

own work, and

then his reason

to boast will

be in himself

alone and not

in his neighbor.

For each will

have to bear

his own load.

Notice that

little word

for in verse

3.

That should

signal to us

that Paul's

connecting this

caution to the

community call in

the previous part

of the passage.

He's connecting

it.

And what he's

warning against in

verse 3 is that

we won't be able

to bear the

burdens of

others properly

without an

honest and

humble view of

ourselves before

God.

This caution has

a lot to do with

what Paul says at

the end of verse

1.

When you're

restoring someone

who sinned, keep

a close eye on

yourself so that

you too are not

tempted.

He's saying, hey,

pay attention to

yourself too.

The caution is

also related to his

command to put

self-importance to

death back in

verse 26.

It's very easy

to serve others

self-importantly.

At times, our

conceit and our

self-importance

prevents us from

serving others

because we're

picking fights with

them or envying

them.

But at other

times, our

self-importance

makes us think

that we're stronger

and healthier than

we actually are.

And then we think

we're something when

we're actually nothing

and we deceive

ourselves.

And out of that

self-deceit, we

serve others

but really, we're

doing it for

ourselves and not

out of obedience

for Christ or out

of love for

others.

Some of us just

need to be needed.

We want to be

wanted.

It makes us feel

stronger when we

feel needed or

wanted.

It makes us feel

healthier than we

actually are.

And so when we

actually stop serving

and things get

quiet and we start

honestly assessing

where we're at

spiritually,

we start realizing

maybe I'm not as

strong or healthy

as I think I am.

And this is

something that

leaders are

particularly prone

to.

Life group leaders,

elders, deacons,

pastors.

We serve and help

bear burdens and

teach and lead but

secretly, sometimes

if we're honest, we

can keep busy doing

these things because

we don't want to

acknowledge that we're

not as healthy as we

think we are.

Or because we find

our identity too much

in serving and not

enough in who we are

in Christ and how

he has loved us and

accomplished our

salvation for us.

But look at the

solution at verse 4.

How are we to not

think ourselves

something when we're

nothing?

Test your own work.

Test your own work

before God.

What Paul means here

is that we need to

ask ourselves whether

our work is just for

show or actually has

good quality to it.

Jess and I recently

watched the movie

Ford versus Ferrari.

It's a great movie.

At one point, the

Ford executives in

the movie unveiled the

exciting new Mustang

GT as its new racing

model.

And everyone in the

showroom is very

impressed.

It looks sleek.

It's slick.

It's very exciting.

It looks like a race

car on the outside.

But one of the

characters, one of the

main characters in the

movie, he's a veteran

mechanic and race car

driver.

He saw right through

the show.

And he told the

executives, this thing

is not going to race

well.

Its engine and its

design are not going

to keep it up with

how it looks on the

outside.

It's just not going to

perform.

And the same is true

with our caring for

each other.

We need to be humble

and honest about our

efforts to serve

others, whether they're

just for show, whether

we're longing for

recognition or whether

the engine that drives

them is of good

quality.

This is also keeping

in step with the

spirit.

He is concerned whether

we're serving others,

that's for sure.

He's also concerned why

and how we serve

others.

He has a way of getting

our serving out onto

the racetrack and

testing it out for

quality.

And we need to be

along with him in

that.

That's what he means by

boasting there in verse

four.

He's not talking about

self-important boasting.

Rather, this is kind of

the spiritual equivalent of

a good, healthy, taking

pride in your own work,

of satisfaction with

excellence.

It's kind of stepping

back and looking at the

floor you just mopped or

the meal you just made or

the car you just fixed and

saying, yep, that feels

good.

It's good work.

And the reason that the

spirit wants that for us

is because at the end of

the day, the only one that

God is going to hold

accountable for you is

you.

God will not ask your

brother who can vouch

that you helped him

through a rough time, nor

will he ask your sister

who will tell him on

judgment day that you

fixed her a meal when

she had a baby.

The only one who can

truly answer for your

motives and attitudes of

your heart is you.

Ultimately, God will hold

you accountable for you

for how and why you

served others.

He will weigh the

attitudes and intentions

of your heart.

He sees right through us.

Therefore, in our

serving, we don't do it

for others, we do it for

him as an act of worship

and service because you

have offered your life to

him in gratitude as a

living sacrifice, as Paul

says in Romans 12.

When Paul says in verse

5 that each one must

carry his own load, it

could be talking about

making sure that you've

got your own life in

order before you help

others.

That's a pretty valid

interpretation.

It's hard to serve others

when your own life is in

disarray.

But more likely and more

importantly, it's a

reference to the day when

you stand before God to

give account for your

life.

life.

Everyone is only

accountable for themselves

on that day.

It means that God will

hold you accountable for

you.

So therefore, test your

work now so it may prove

to be of good quality

then.

This is also keeping in

step with the Spirit.

And here's what you test

for.

Ask yourself why you are

desiring to serve others.

Is it because you need

to be needed?

You want to be wanted?

Is it because you find

your identity not in

Christ's love for you but

in others' love for you

when you serve them?

Is it because it makes you

think that God loves you

more when you serve

others?

Is it because being around

hurting or less mature

believers reinforces a

self-righteous attitude in

you that you are a pretty

good Christian indeed?

Or is it this?

Do you joyfully bear the

burdens of others because

Christ has done the same

for you?

And you are eager to

follow his example.

Do you serve out of

gratitude for what Jesus

has accomplished for you

and the awesome privilege

that you have to be his

instrument for good, the

good of others?

Do you serve others

because you want to offer

your life to him as a

living sacrifice out of

joyful thanks for his

grace?

That's the ideal.

That's what we're

striving for.

That's what we need to

aim at.

That's the quality work

that will prove itself on

judgment day.

So let's aim for that.

Something that's not just

for show but has the

right kind of engine in

it.

But one word before we

move toward a close.

None of us does this

well.

We are all failures.

Not just in our lack of

serving, our lack of care,

but in the way that we

actually do it.

There is much grace for

those who are failures in

the way that we don't

serve or the poor way that

we do serve.

If you're feeling a

particular hopelessness in

this, particularly if you're

in a hard season of serving

a lot and it feels more

out of obligation than

anything else, continue to

press into the grace of

Jesus.

He is enough for you now,

today, and he will be

enough for you tomorrow

too.

This is the kind of humble

care that we need to have

for one another and it

will happen as we keep in

step with our conductor.

conductor.

Let's hear the words of our

spirit conductor today.

Let's pay careful attention to

the rhythm that he's tapping

out for us.

Let's keep our eyes on him so

that we can play beautiful

music together and it will all

be worth it to see the smile on

his face at the end.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Lord, I'm sure that many of us

can hear this and get excited,

eager to roll up our sleeves and

get to work and keep in step with

you, Jesus, by your spirit.

But Lord, I know that some of us

are weary.

Father, I pray particularly that

you would grant strength and

grace to those of us who are

weary in our serving and in our

caring for others.

Lord, especially if it's chronic

and seemingly unending situations,

would you grant much grace?

Father, fulfill every resolve we

have to do good.

And keep our eyes on you as you

lead us to your heavenly kingdom.

We will be with you forever and

faith will be sight.

Help us to strive after your smile

on that day, Jesus.

In your name, amen.